Page 69 of Vendetta Vows

We're so close now that I can feel the gentle heat radiating from his body. His scent envelops me, subtle, light, yet somehow overwhelming as well.

I feel my lips parting slightly, my breath quickening.

Without breaking eye contact, his voice drops even lower. "Truth or dare,zarechka."

My pulse thrums in my ears as I answer without hesitation. "Dare."

A smile curves his mouth, equal parts temptation and challenge. "I dare you to show me what you were about to do at Nikoforov. Before we were interrupted."

Heat crawls up my neck and spreads across my cheeks. My mind flashes back to that night. Back to the privacy of his VIP room, the glass wall, his lips on mine, and my hand boldly reaching for him through his pants.

But that wasn't what I truly wanted to do.

"Are you sure?" I whisper, my fingers still resting against the warm skin at the nape of his neck.

His gold eyes glimmers. "I am."

Without letting go of his neck, I rise from my chair. My heart hammers so hard I'm certain he can hear it. He watches me with an intensity that makes my skin tingle, waiting to see what I'll do next.

Taking a deep breath, I slide onto his lap, my dress hitching up as I straddle him. The heat of his body against mine sends a jolt through me.

Ruslan's hands come up to my waist, pulling me closer until I can feel every inch where our bodies connect. The solid warmth of him beneath me makes my head swim. I've imagined this moment so many times since that night, but the reality is so much more overwhelming.

"This is what I wanted to do," I confess, my voice barely audible.

I lean forward and press my lips against the sharp line of his jaw. His stubble scratches deliciously against my lips as I nibble gently at the spot where his jaw meets his ear.

A soft groan escapes him, the vibration rumbling through his chest to mine. The sound sends liquid heat rushing through me. His hands tighten on my waist, fingers pressing into my skin through the fabric of my dress.

Emboldened, I trail kisses down the column of his neck, each touch of my lips against his skin more intoxicating than the last. The rapid pulse beneath my mouth tells me everything his controlled expression tries to hide.

He wants this just as desperately as I do.

His head tilts back and a breathy groan tumbles from his lips as I continue my path downward. When I reach his collarbone, I let my tongue trace along the ridge of it before placing one final, lingering kiss there.

I pull back just enough to meet his eyes again. They've gone molten with desire, his breathing as unsteady as mine.

"Truth or dare," I whisper, my voice trembling with both nerves and need.

"Truth," Ruslan answers, his voice dropping to a register so low I feel it more than hear it. The word hangs between us, heavy with promise. The façade of the powerful bratva leader slips momentarily, revealing something raw beneath.

I'm still perched on his lap, my dress bunched around my thighs, his hands steady on my waist. The connection between us feels electric, like we're balanced on a knife's edge of something profound.

I consider what to ask. I have a thousand questions burning in my mind, but one rises above the others. Something I need to know about the complex, guarded man beneath me.

"What's something you're afraid of but haven't told anyone else?" I whisper.

Ruslan's eyes darken, and for a moment, he looks away.

The vulnerability in his expression makes my heart ache. I've seen this man command a room, stare down a vengeful actress, and navigate bratva politics at a funeral with ruthless precision.

But this unguarded moment feels more intimate than his hands on my body.

When he finally meets my gaze again, the hurt in his golden eyes is so profound it steals my breath.

"What I'm afraid of more than anything else..." he begins, his voice steady yet thick with emotion, "is being unable to keep the people I care about safe."

The confession settles over me like a physical weight. In those words, I hear the ghosts of his past.

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